Rattlers open at home Friday against Boston

Rochester, NY (April 29, 2104) The Rochester Rattlers will be celebrating their 2014 season home opener this coming Friday, May 2ndat 7:30 pm, as they take on the Boston Cannons at Sahlen’s Stadium. The Rattlers will look for their first win of the season as they dropped a heartbreaker to the New York Lizards this past Sunday, 18-15. Boston will hope to make it two in a row, coming off an impressive win over the defending champion Chesapeake Bayhawks 15-9.

Boston comes to town with one of the most popular and talented lacrosse players in the world, Paul Rabil. Rabil had a solid season opener with 2 goals and 3 assists against the Bayhawks. Attackman Kevin Buchanan had a breakout performance with a total of 7 goals, which garnered him the MLL Offensive Player of the Week honors.

Rochester also had stand out players during the league’s opening weekend. Justin Turri had 3 goals (1-2 pointer) and 2 assists, while Dan Hardy had a strong outing with 4 total goals in almost bringing Rochester back from the brink of defeat. Team USA member and Rattlers Goalie John Galloway had 18 saves in the loss.

This season brings a couple milestones for one of Rochester’s leaders and all around great players. Kevin Leveille, entering his 11thseason in MLL is on the cusp of breaking two all-time records. Sitting at 262 goals, he is only 9 goals away from breaking that record by surpassing Tim Gottlelmann. In addition, Leveille only needs 2 game winning goals to be the all-time leader in the category, also bypassing Gottelmann on the way.

Rochester looks to improve on a 2013 that saw them go 6-8 and miss the playoffs. With key additions in Middie Sam Bradman from the LXM Tour and MJ Kiekebelt, an RIT grad traded during the off season from Denver, and returning players like Team USA members Leveille, Dave Lawson and Galloway in net, the Rattlers look to have a ton of fire power at their disposal while backstopped by one of the league’s best netminders.

Please log onto rochesterrattlers.com for more information, or call 585-340-6905 for details. Tickets for the home opener can be purchased through ticketmaster.com or the Sahlen’s Stadium box office. Gates open at 6:30 pm. Like us on Facebook or follow us on twitter @RattlersLax.